Bounds on the lattice point enumerator via slices and projections (Q2118223)

The paper contributes to the many recent investigations of discrete versions of well-known and highly applicable inequalities in Convex Geometry and the Brunn-Minkowski theory. More precisely, the authors seek to answer a question of \textit{R. J. Gardner} et al. [Discrete Comput. Geom. 34, No. 3, 391--409 (2005; Zbl 1093.52008)] about the possibility of a discrete analog of Meyer's inequality [\textit{M. Meyer}, Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 20, No. 2, 151--155 (1988; Zbl 0639.52009)], which describes a lower bound on the volume of a convex body in terms of the geometric mean of the volume of its slices by the coordinate hyperplanes. The discretization here is meant with respect to replacing the volume functional by the number of lattice points that the body, or its slices, contains. The authors give two answers to the question: (1) For general convex bodies there is no discrete analog, and (2) for the important and natural class of origin-symmetric convex bodies they prove a first discrete analog with a probably non-optimal constant, while offering a conjecture for the optimal bound. Further, the authors extend their studies more generally towards relationships between the number of lattice points in a convex body and those in its slices or projections. The various results they obtain include, for instance, an optimal discrete analog of Brunn's concavity principle, a discrete version of the famous slicing inequality/problem, and a discrete reverse Loomis-Whitney inequality.